Tuesday, 4 February 2025

 Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (15:45): On a brighter note, it was fascinating and inspiring recently to hear from young Fletcher Doherty of Sale, a recipient last year of the Charlie McCallum Scholarship to undertake a trek along the Kokoda Track. The scholarships were established by Craig Guthrie and Kylie Willmot and the team at Sale RSL and Community Club to cover the cost of a Year ‍11 student to undertake Kokoda and learn more about the history of this brutal but crucial World War II campaign. Incredibly, Fletcher is a great-great-grand-nephew of Charlie McCallum, a local who was born in Foster and lived in the Tarra Valley before heading off to war. The member for Gippsland East has been a champion of the scholarship program since establishing it himself in East Gippsland, and we now have young people from across the state heading to PNG each year for a challenging but rewarding experience. The 2025 scholarship will be launched soon, and I will be encouraging Year 11 students from local schools who would like to apply.